Showing results for: “price gouging”
Teaching RPM After Leegin
Back in the olden days (i.e., before this past summer), a manufacturer automatically violated the antitrust laws — no ifs, ands, or buts — if he agreed with a retailer that the latter would charge at least a minimum price for the manufacturer’s products. For reasons we elaborated ad nauseum (click and scroll down), that ... Teaching RPM After Leegin
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case
The Supreme Court denied cert yesterday in Truck-Rail Handling Inc. v. Burlington Northern & Sante Fe Railway Co., U.S., No. 07-693 (HT: Danny Sokol), where the 9th Circuit had affirmed summary judgment for the railroad company on the grounds that the plaintiff had not adequately defined relevant product markets. BNSF leased its terminal facilities to ... Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case
Some Economic Insights on Prices and Choices
Courtesy of Lynne Kiesling who supplies such insights regularly over at Knowledge Problem. It’s about retail choice in electricity, but the general principles apply more broadly. The whole thing is worth reading carefully: There are, though, several ways that free choice and the removal of entry barriers into retail markets generates better outcomes than regulated ... Some Economic Insights on Prices and Choices
Should We Protect Ourselves From Dreaded Free Shipping?
In France, it has been ruled that Amazon can no longer offer free shipping on book purchases. Don’t you just love it when competition policy protects certain competitors instead of actual competition? The protected competitors here are “vulnerable small bookshops.” Last I checked, the essence of competition is that “vulnerable” or inefficient competitors are supposed ... Should We Protect Ourselves From Dreaded Free Shipping?
Cleaning up after Pasquale's hit job
Recently, Frank Pasquale at Concurring Opinions wrote a blog post did a drive-by hit on FTC Chairman Majoras supporting her recusal from considering the Google/DoubleClick merger now pending before the FTC.  You really have to read the post to get the full effect of the innuendo and intimation–it’s masterfully subtle. At the time I commented on ... Cleaning up after Pasquale's hit job
Legally Mandated RPM in the German Book Market
A story in the New York Times explains that in Germany booksellers are legally prohibited from discounting books below the price set by the publisher. It’s not clear from the story, but it thus seems that Germany has a legally-mandated system of minimum resale price maintenance. Not surprisingly, this favors small bookstores. “In the United ... Legally Mandated RPM in the German Book Market
Vertical Integration and Retail Gasoline Prices Revisited
A trio of Federal Trade Commission economists (Christopher Taylor, Paul Zimmerman, & Nicholas Kreisle) have revisited Justine Hastings’ 2004 AER analysis of the ARCO/ Thrifty vertical merger in their paper, “Vertical Relationships and Competition in the Retail Gasoline Market: Comment.” (HT: Danny Sokol). Hastings’ analysis is viewed as particularly important because it is one of ... Vertical Integration and Retail Gasoline Prices Revisited
Starbucks, Subway, and Antitrust
A few days ago, I posted a comment about Starbucks’ recent disclosure that its average per store traffic has gone down slightly even though overall profits have gone up. I suggested a number of explanations for these phenomena consistent with a story that consumer taste for the Starbucks product has not diminished. One of these ... Starbucks, Subway, and Antitrust
Starbucks Store Traffic and Nonexclusivity
Traffic at Starbucks shops open for 13 months or more is down one percent. Does this mean that the public is finally losing its appetite for Starbucks? Not necessarily. While traffic is down, profits are up. Thus a more likely explanation for the new data is the firm’s price increase last summer rather than a ... Starbucks Store Traffic and Nonexclusivity
MAE in the Sallie Mae Case
Back in April, private equity fund J.C. Flowers, along with JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, agreed to acquire Sallie Mae, the largest provider of student loans in the United States. Between then and now, Congress passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA), which reduced in various ways the subsidies ... MAE in the Sallie Mae Case
Radiohead results
The results are in: Radiohead did . . . ok. Before I share the specifics, let me remind you of what one seemingly prescient prognosticator said a few weeks ago: My prediction: They will receive an average price of $2 and a median price of $0.  So what happened? Of those who downloaded Radiohead’s digital ... Radiohead results
FCC Bans Exclusive Contracts In Apartment Buildings
From the NY Times: Federal regulators on Wednesday approved a rule that would ban exclusive agreements that cable television operators have with apartment buildings, opening up competition for other video providers that could eventually lead to lower prices. The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the change, which Chairman Kevin Martin said would help lower cable ... FCC Bans Exclusive Contracts In Apartment Buildings
